CLEVELAND, Oh. — A 10-year-old Georgia boy who is awaiting surgery in Cleveland got a big surprise Tuesday night -- a visit from his favorite football player, Nick Chubb.
Luke Clayton lives in Bremen, Georgia, and is a huge Georgia Bulldogs fan. Chubb, a former UGA running back, now plays for the Cleveland Browns.
Luke's grandmother, Janet Pope, reached out to Channel 2 Action News to share the sweet story of how her grandson got to meet his hero.
Luke suffers from epileptic seizures and is having surgery to help relieve them. Pope said as soon as Luke learned his surgery would be in Cleveland, all he could think about was his favorite player. He even wore his Chubb jersey to the airport for the trip.
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"The first thing he said was that he wanted to see Nick Chubb," Pope said.
While Luke went through testing at the hospital, his community back in Breman secretly worked to make the big meeting happen. Family friends reached out to Chubb's manager to help coordinate the visit.
On Tuesday, video captured the moment a stunned Luke saw Chubb walk into his hospital room.
"The look on Luke's face when Chubb walked in his room was priceless," Pope said.
In the video shared by his family, Luke clutches his chest and can barely speak for a few minutes.
"You asked for it," Chubb jokes.
"This is crazy," Luke finally manages to say.
"How do you feel about Georgia this weekend?" Chubb asks Luke.
"They could win," Luke says. "Hopefully."
Pope said after the initial shock wore off, Luke and Chubb talked for about an hour.
Lin Clayton wrote about his son's amazing experience on Facebook:
"Luke had a long day of tests, but his favorite Dawg showed up and spent an hour with him. They talked Madden, the Browns, Richt vs. Kirby," Clayton wrote. "This is without a doubt the coolest experience ever."
As Chubb was leaving, he told Clayton that Luke should work for ESPN.
"Chubb's visit was a dream come true for Luke," Pope said.
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